Rosy Mound and Nordhouse Dunes

I couldn't tell you exactly why this week was as bad as it was. Situations hadn't changed that much; I am still without work, still "turtling" with my finances, and still unsure of when any of that will change. I am still exercising, still looking for jobs, and still finding the joy in my circumstances. However, just before this weekend, I became incredibly restless and anxious. I desperately searched for employment that had nothing to do with earning my social work license, I micro-analyzed my recent interactions, and began doubting the assurances granted to me.

However, grace came in the form of a trip to Rosy Mound to talk with two close friends, and spending last night in Nordhouse Dunes. This gave me the opportunity to test a sleeping bag in close to freezing temperatures. Both the bag and my friends warmed my heart when I needed it most... and both probably have sand that will take a long time to remove all of.

White Pine and Musketawa Trail

Thanks to the charity of others allowing me to borrow their bike and bike accessories [playing cards in the spokes is a must], I have been able to ride some of the local biking trails. These trails include the White Pine [Comstock Park to Rockford] and Musketawa Trail [Marne to Muskegon].

Both were beautiful to ride in the Autumn, and though the Musketawa took most of the day to ride [50 miles], it beckoned me to pause and appreciate its beauty... and the breaks were also appreciated.

Taking my apple-pickin' time

Even if I am in the thick of a chaotic schedule, I still love to find time to attend to my apple tree. I find it calming to spend time fertilizing, pruning, and treating my tree.

However, I've had all the time in the world recently, and I haven't put in time with my tree. There's a lot of other projects around the house that I haven't finished either. When I have nothing but free time, I find it difficult to accomplish anything I should be doing.

This week, however, my apples were fully ripened and needing to be picked. I was feeling sickly and generally unmotivated, but it was a nice day and I wasn't particularly interested in seeing how many job leads hadn't gotten back to me.

I got out my ladder, bushel basket, and began picking through branches sorting out the apples for pies [good apples] and saucing [blemished apples]. As the afternoon turned to evening, many of my neighbors had passed by, paying their compliments to the tree and it's yield. I always felt blessed by the apple tree, and it had been wonderful being able to bless my neighbors with free apples. By the end of the day, my mood had improved, and the autumn sunset provided a beautiful backdrop to finish to.

Before I put away my ladder and baskets, I snapped some pictures. Now I'm posting them here. Because that's what blogs are for.

Red Moons

Using a shoe and my trashcan as a tripod, I took pictures of the Red Supermoon Lunar Eclipse.

That's the first 'red moon'.

I also performed a new comedy set in a festival tent, alongside a cornhole tournament using a megaphone in lieu of a microphone. This was during Red Flannel Days in Cedar Springs.

That was the second 'red moon' 

Get it?

Subtle.